Field Day 2022
On Sunday, Sept. 18th, join Organic BC for an in-person field day at Fresh Valley Farms!
Take a tour of the farm and learn about their rotational grazing practices, cover cropping and forage program, on-farm slaughter/cut/wrap, and field management, and dive deeper into the transition of one field to organic. You’ll also hear from guest speaker Percy Folkard, regenerative grazing consultant and instructor at Thompson Rivers University.
The event is free, but registration is required.
Schedule
10:00 AM - Intro and welcome by Organic BC and farmer hosts
- Farmers talk about entire operation: history, background, sales outlets, etc.
- Overview of farming practices and philosophies
- Livestock in rotation: chicken, turkeys, cattle on pasture
- Cover cropping and forage program
10:15 AM - Farmer-led Tour of Operation
- Examples of different fields and livestock
- Slaughter/cut and wrap on farm: why a closed loop is important
- Focus on field transitioning to organic from conventional dairy/corn silage, this year’s management process, hopes for the future, future management plans
11:00 AM - Speaker: Percy Folkard, B.N.R.Sc., M.Sc., P.Ag. (Regenerative Grazing Consultant and Instructor at Thompson Rivers University for the Applied Sustainable Ranching Diploma program)
- Percy will talk about the relationship and health of livestock, plant communities and soil under these management practices
- Q&A
11.30 AM -Informal Farmer Discussion & Mingle
About Percy Folkard
Percy farms beef cattle in unceded Secwepemculecw and teaches range ecology, pasture management and grazing planning at Thompson Rivers University for the Applied Regenerative Agriculture Diploma program. With 15 years experience in the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Forests, Percy has worked in several capacities including range and timber policy analysis and development, agroforestry research and development, and management of invasive plant control programs across the southern interior of BC.
Percy has a Masters of Science in Environmental Science from Thompson Rivers University specializing in silvopasture systems, specifically livestock grazing in interior forest ecosystems. Percy offers heifers for sale from his second-generation grass-only herd of Speckle Park, Angus and Galloway cross-bred genetics and he provides consulting services to farmers and groups setting up regenerative grazing operations.
This field day is organized by Organic BC and hosted at Fresh Valley Farms.